


You know what it’s like to be alive

by sensorium



Series: there is no way to get to the future from here [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Sad, no beta if i die i die
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:54:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22502845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sensorium/pseuds/sensorium
Summary: The world they step into is Paris, but not.*****“I want you to remember this ... I want you to remember that I told you it won’t work. Remember that I’ve seen it. I’ve experienced it. I’ve lived it. Nothing I tried worked. Nothing you try will work, none of your plans, no matter how well thought out, will ever come to fruition like you want. It won’t work. You have to let him go. Remember that I told you, it’s ok to let him go.”
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Alix Kubdel
Series: there is no way to get to the future from here [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619032
Comments: 3
Kudos: 53





	You know what it’s like to be alive

**Author's Note:**

> I was rereading Not Today to see if I missed any typos/grammar issues and I was thinking, what was Marinette thinking? Why was she running away? Why didn’t she run for help? And I decided to answer all the questions I had in a super sad little follow up that made me cry while I wrote it! Sorry! All I can crank out is sad angsty stuff. I promise it hurts me just as bad as it hurts you.

Bunnix appears in front of them right after Ladybug casts the miraculous cure. Chat hadn’t used his cataclysm, and she only called for her lucky charm in order to cast the cure, so they have time. Bunnix motions frantically for them to follow her into the rabbit hole, and Ladybug immediately goes to follow, so Chat does the same.

The world they step into is Paris, but not.

The eiffel tower seems to be the only thing still intact. Various buildings are crumbled, empty shells of themselves. Entire streets are filled with rubble. They don’t see a single other person during their entire walk through the city. It looks like an apocalypse happened. Something catastrophic. Cataclysmic, even.

“What happened?” Chat gasps as they walk around the wreckage of what used to be Francois Dupont.

Bunnix stops in her tracks and her shoulders tighten.

“You died.”

Both Ladybug and Chat startle at the voice coming from somewhere behind them, and then blanch once they register the statement. 

They turn around to see who it is.

Ladybug is confused, but also hopeful. Her eyes sparkle with determination, and both Bunnix and future Ladybug wince at the sight. “Well, if Bunnix brought us here to see this, to see you - me? Anyways - there has to be a way to fix it, right? A way to prevent it?”

Bunnix squeezes her eyes shut for a moment, infinite timelines playing out behind her eyelids, and when she opens them again, they are as old as time.

“Yes and no. You can fix this. You can prevent _this._ ” She waves her arms to gesture to the wreckage, making sweeping motions to encompass all of Paris in her statement.

Future Ladybug chimes in after that statement.

“Yes. You can prevent this destruction. But once he dies, if he dies, you can’t save him. You can’t bring him back. If that moment ever happens, I want you to remember this. I want you to remember that I told you not to try and save him. I want you to remember that I told you it won’t work. Remember that I’ve seen it. I’ve experienced it. I’ve lived it. Nothing I tried worked. Nothing you try will work, none of your plans, no matter how well thought out, will ever come to fruition like you want. It won’t work. You have to let him go. Remember that I told you, it’s ok to let him go.”

The spark in present Ladybug’s eyes has dimmed a little, and she grabs onto Chat’s hand tightly. “Well, you can at least tell us which akuma it is, can’t you? You can do that much for us.”

Future Ladybug inhales deeply and shakes her head. “No, I can’t.”

She looks to be in her early 20’s, but her eyes are sad and her voice is anguished, and she seems so much older.

As solemn and sad as future Ladybug seems, present Ladybug is the opposite. She’s furious, she steps up into future Ladybug’s space, so they’re standing toe to toe, and it’s ridiculous how small she is in comparison. How innocent she is. How much she hasn’t seen, or done, or had to do. 

“How can you bring us here and show us this and give us _nothing._ You can’t tell us that Chat dies and then tell us you won’t tell us what’s going to kill him. Whether it be an akuma or not. You can’t do that to us.” She pokes her finger in future Ladybug’s face, making her take a step back. “Whatever happened to you to make you this, if you were really me.” She puts her arms down by her sides, fists clenched tightly. “If you were _ever_ me, you’d know that.”

“Oh, believe me, tiny bug, I wish you weren’t me.”

She rubs her hand over her face, looking even more exhausted, and says, “I didn’t say that I won’t, I said I _can’t_. I can’t! I don’t _know!_ I don’t know which akuma it is, or if it’s even an akuma, it’s a different one every time, and when it isn’t an akuma it’s always a different situation. No matter how many times I go back, no matter how far I go back, I can’t ever stop it. I’m telling you _I don’t know_.”

Future Ladybug steps away to pace, and sighs harshly. “I tried so many times that I lost count. I tried and failed and tried and failed and tried and _failed_. Fluff told us - told _me,_ after hundreds and thousands of tries, that some things are set in stone. There are some events in history that are destined to happen no matter what. Nothing can stop it. Nothing can prevent it. Not even the combined power of creation and destruction. Nothing.”

She grabs onto present Ladybug’s shoulders and shakes her. “Listen to me. No matter how hard you try to stave it off, he will die, and if you don’t let him go, the consequences will be disastrous. World-ending.”

Her eyes water as she steps away and looks at Chat, and a single tear slips out of her eye. He was so young. He _is_ so young. He never got the chance to grow up, to grow old. He still might not. It hurts, it still hurts so much. A huge integral part of her is missing, and she’ll never get it back.

“I’m so sorry Chaton. I never wanted it to go this way. I never wanted it to be like this. We - we were children. We were _kids_. We were too young for what happened to us. And I know you’re not him, you’re not my Chat, but I want you to know that I tried. I almost didn’t stop trying. I destroyed the world hundreds of times over before Bunnix finally put a stop to it, before Fluff finally talked some sense into me. I’m so, _so_ sorry.” She falls to her knees, the mere sight of him so young and healthy and _alive_ too much for her to handle. 

She’s enveloped in a hug by arms she hasn’t felt for decades, for centuries.

“It’s ok, future Bug. I know it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t do that to him - to me. You didn’t kill him.”

A sob wrenches itself out of her, and Bunnix immediately comes to her other side. Future Ladybug grabs onto Bunnix’s hand tightly, so tightly her bones crack, and they’re both crying.

“That’s -” She’s cut off by another sob she can’t hold back. Bunnix falls to her knees beside Ladybug, hunched over in an attempt to hide her face, to hide the fact that she’s crying too. 

“That’s exactly what he said to me.” Her voice breaks. “Every time.”

**Author's Note:**

> Is it spelt Bunnyx or Bunnix? I changed it like 3 times just bc I kept seeing both being used so uh ... sorry! Also I haven’t seen much of season 3 (I’ve only seen this first 13 eps which are what’s up on US Netflix) so I’m making up my own lore regarding the rabbit miraculous.


End file.
